Delicious vegetarian enchiladas stuffed with black beans, veggies, cheese, topped with homemade red enchilada sauce, some more cheese, and baked. A family favorite and complete meal!!
We love Mexican food so I tend to make it at least once every week or two and these vegetarian bean enchiladas are highly requested and so easy to make.
They are meal prep friendly, can be assembled ahead of time, and baked just before serving making them suitable for large gatherings and parties too!
If you love Mexican cuisine as much as my family does, be sure to check out my Vegetable Quesadilla and Vegetarian Nachos.
What is Enchilada
An Enchilada is a popular Mexican dish. It comprises of filled and rolled tortilla (flatbread) topped with spicy enchilada sauce, lots of cheese, and baked until the cheese melts.
They can be made in a couple of ways like dip the tortilla in sauce and then place the filling on it and roll. The other is to pour the sauce on top of the filled and rolled tortillas. Either way works and just a matter of preference.
You can have umpteen variations for the enchilada filling like veggies, beans, meat, or a combination.
For today's post, I am sharing my Veggie enchiladas that have lots of veggies, black beans, and cheese as its filling.
It's a complete and satiating meal with lots of colors and nutritional goodness. So let's see how to make this delicious vegetarian enchiladas recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
For the Veggie and Black Bean Filling
- Vegetables: I've used bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, corn. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spinach, and broccoli make some good options too.
- Beans: I prefer using black beans but you can use pinto or red kidney beans too. but you can use canned too.
- Aromatics and Seasonings: Onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder, lime juice, and cilantro.
For The Enchiladas
- Tortillas: Traditionally Enchiladas use corn tortilla but I prefer flour tortilla
- Veggie and Black Bean Filling: From above
- Red Enchilada Sauce: Use your favorite brand or it's easy to make your own.
- Cheese: I used a Mexican cheese blend of Monterey Jack, Medium Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero Cheese.
- Toppings: Sour cream, cilantro, chopped avocado, and bell pepper (optional).
Step by Step Instructions
To make the veggie black beans filling
1 - In a pan, heat oil and add the garlic, saute for couple of seconds and add the onions. Mix and cook till onions turn translucent.
2 - Now add the veggies like red and green capsicum, zucchini, yellow squash. Mix well. Cover and cook till veggies are almost cooked about ¾ done.
3 - Stir in the spices - oregano, cumin, red chilli powder salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another minute.
4 - Then add black beans and corn. Cook for another 5 mins (covered) and finish it off with some lime juice and cilantro. Mix well and keep aside.
Delicious veggie black bean filling is ready! This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator covered.
To make vegetarian black bean enchiladas
5 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roast the tortillas on a griddle on medium heat, take it off the heat, and then spread a tbsp of sauce on it.
6 to 8 - Place a couple of tablespoons of the filling on one side of the tortilla. Top it with cheese and roll tight.
9 and 10 - Spread some sauce onto a casserole/baking dish (skip if making ahead). Place the filled and rolled tortilla seam-side down onto the casserole.
11 - Repeat until all the tortilla are complete. Then pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas.
12 - Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese. Bake for 15-20 mins or until the cheese has melted.
Serving suggestions
This vegetarian enchilada is a complete meal in itself so I usually serve it on its own with a side of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
Alternately you can drizzle some sour cream on top and garnish with some red capsicum and avocado just before serving.
Our colorful and tasty Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Enchiladas are ready. Enjoy!!
Meal Prep Option
Make the filling and enchilada sauce over the weekend and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
The tortilla can be filled and rolled a day or night in advance and refrigerated. Don't add sauce to the bottom of the pan. When ready to eat, top it with sauce and cheese and bake.
Storage suggestion
Leftover enchiladas can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months (airtight to prevent freezer burn).
To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 10-15 mins (refrigerated) and 25-30 mins (frozen) or until heated through. Cover with an aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- You can use beans and veggies of choice. Preferably cut them in the same size to match the beans.
- The filling can be adjusted as per choice. I like the bean and veggies combination but you can do it all veggies, all beans, or even include meat like chicken if you like.
- Corn or flour tortilla can be used.
- You can use homemade Red Enchilada Sauce or even store-bought.
- For vegan enchiladas, skip the cheese and they will still taste delicious. Top it with some extra avocado for that creaminess or simply use a non-dairy shredded cheese.
- To make it gluten-free enchiladas, use gluten-free tortillas and sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, traditionally enchiladas use corn tortilla but I prefer flour tortilla. I find them easier to fill and roll compared to corn ones.
For my enchiladas and quesadilla, I prefer using a Mexican cheese blend of Monterey Jack, Medium Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero Cheese. It melts and blends well with Mexican recipes.
If you don't like your enchiladas getting soggy, don't put sauce at the bottom of the pan as that will cause it to steam. Just brush the pan with butter or oil and layer the rolled tortilla. Pour sauce (not too much) over the tortilla just before baking.
Also roasting tortillas before assembling helps them absorb less sauce.
More Easy Mexican Recipes
Hope you enjoy these Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas!! If you give this recipe a try, please rate by clicking stars ⭐️ in the recipe card. Thank you ❤️ ! You can also follow me on Facebook | Instagram to see what’s cooking in my kitchen!!
Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the Veggie and Black Bean Filling:
- 1 small onion finely diced, approximately ½ cup chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced or finely chopped
- ½ bell pepper chopped, used ¼ each of red and green
- ½ cup zucchini chopped
- ½ cup yellow squash chopped
- 1 cup black beans boiled or canned
- 1-2 tbsp corn kernels using frozen, fresh can be ised too
- ½ tsp salt adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder adjust to taste
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ to 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp red chilli powder adjust to taste
- 1-2 tbsp lime juice adjust to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves of finely chopped
For Enchilada:
- 6-7 flour tortilla
- Veggie and Black Bean Filling from above
- 1-2 cups Red Enchilada Sauce Store bought or Homemade
- 2 cups shredded cheese using Mexican blend
For serving/garnishing
- Sour cream, cilantro, chopped avocado, and bell pepper (optional)
Instructions
For making the Veggie Black Bean Filling:
- In a vessel, heat oil and add the garlic, saute for a couple of seconds and add the onions. Mix and cook till onions turn translucent.
- Stir in the veggies like red and green bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash. Mix and cover and cook till veggies are almost done.
- Stir in the spices - oregano, cumin, red chilli powder, salt, and pepper followed by black beans and corn. Mix well and cook covered for another 2-3 mins.
- Finish with some lime juice and cilantro. Mix well. The Veggie black beans filling is ready
For making the Enchiladas:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the tortilla around 10 seconds each side on a pan or you can do all together at once in a microwave for about 15-20 seconds approximately.
- Take one tortilla, spread a tbsp of sauce on it. Add the filling and top it with cheese. Roll tightly.
- Spread some sauce onto a casserole/baking dish. Place the filled and rolled tortilla seam-side down onto the casserole. Repeat until all the tortilla are complete.
- Then pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle generous amount of cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 mins or until the cheese has melted.
- Delicious Vegetarian Beans and cheese enchiladas are ready! Serve with side of sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.
Notes
- You can use beans and veggies of choice. Preferably cut them in the same size to match the beans.
- The filling can be adjusted as per choice. I like the bean and veggies combination but you can do it all veggies, all beans, or even include meat like chicken if you like.
- Corn or flour tortilla can be used.
- For vegan enchiladas, skip the cheese and they will still taste delicious. Top it with some extra avocado for that creaminess or simply use a non-dairy shredded cheese.
- To make it gluten-free enchiladas, use gluten-free tortillas and sauce.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen (airtight to prevent freezer burns) for 3 months.
- Reheat in a preheated oven at 350°F, covered with foil (to prevent browning) for 10-15 mins (refrigerated) and 25-30 mins (frozen) or until heated through.
Yay, really happy that you liked it. Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Tried this recently.. came out really good..Thanks!
Gorgeous looking enchiladas:)lovely clicks too!!
Simple and yummy
Simply Wow
Wow. This looks so perfect,delicious and beautiful